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Change is in the air, so be ready

Experienced hunters spend the entire year looking forward to the next two weeks. Bucks are beginning to move during daylight hours offering hunters their best opportunity to tag a trophy.

The rut is controlled by many factors, most of which are predictable. Many scientists claim the moon cycle is what sets the rut off. You canít use a calendar to exactly predict the rut, but you may use it as a reference. Itís common for the extreme hunters out there to keep a journal and catalog the time frame of the rut. I find most recent information to be the best way to judge when the rut is kicking off.

I havenít found that the moon cycle affects deer as much as fish. I have tried to base my hunts on the moon cycle, but have had little success. My records show a steep increase in fish activity three days before the full moon. The night of the full moon has tended to be the worse fishing of the cycle. The bite will be off for the next three days after the full moon also. Knowing what phase of the moon cycle that you are in can greatly increase your odds of a harvest. Iíve found that the kickoff of the rut is much less predictable using the moon cycle, while deer movement can be much more easily defined. I have found that a.m. deer movement decreases, while in the full moon, I believe this is attributed to increased nocturnal movement, and the extra light in the morning sending the deer to bed early for safety purposes.